China UnionPay Makes Appearance in High-end NYC Stores

It is not easy to force big United States merchants to expand their payment options. But as luxury retail chains Saks and Neiman Marcus see an increase in Chinese shoppers, both decided to make a move.

Both retail chains are installing PIN pads to accept PIN-debit cards carrying China UnionPay’s logo. Saks is doing so at its Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City and plans to add other stores over the next few months.

From China Daily:

Like Saks, Neiman Marcus of Dallas will begin accepting China UnionPay debit cards at some stores beginning this month. These include the Neiman Marcus store in Honolulu and the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York.

Efforts to capture the lucrative market of Chinese tourists are not new. The French jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier, the Swiss watch makers Piaget and Omega and the duty-free chain DFS Galleria, owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, have been taking China UnionPay cards for some time, as have mid-range retailers such as Macy’s, Apple and Best Buy.

China UnionPay long has been working hard to crack the U.S. market, especially high-end retailers Chinese tourists visit. Merchant acceptance is growing and the user experience is improving as Chinese consumers continue to flood major US tourism destinations.

A record 1.1 million Chinese visited the US last year, up 36 percent from the previous year, the US Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration says.